Crossed Combs - retro stuff, rhythm and blues, tiki and all that jazz.

Barbie Mad Men collector's dolls

A friend of mine recently told me that the people behind the tv show Mad Men are so keen on getting everything right that they even hunt down smaller apples and oranges, as the fruit in the early 1960's weren't as big as they are today... Attention to detail? Indeed.

Anyway, Mad Men is clearly very popular, so popular that Mattel now launches the Barbie Mad Men collector's dolls.

Gracefully molded of Silkstone®, a material that resembles the look and weight of porcelain, each doll is stylized in iconic costumes from the series, and comes with accessories true to their show counterparts. Don Draper wears his classic, polished red-lined suit and comes accessorized with a hat, overcoat and brief case; Betty Draper’s classic look is captured with unparalleled detail, from her faux pearl necklace to her pumps; Joan Holloway looks chic in a purple skirt suit and perfectly styled coif with her staple accessory — a pen necklace; and Roger Sterling is looking dapper in his monogrammed shirt.

Available to consumers July 2010. Read more about the dolls at BarbieCollector.com

Via RetroToGo

Set your phaser on blu-ray

April 28, 2009 sees the release of Star Trek: The Original Series, season 1, on blu-ray. A set of 7 discs in a box, with a total runtime of 1460 minutes.

If blu-ray is the final frontier or not is anyone's guess. But it's what's top notch at the moment. And somehow it seems logical to watch science fiction on a very modern format. I have not run that one by Spock though.


Read more about Star Trek TOS on blu-ray at Amazon.com

Patrick McGoohan dies aged 80

Actor Patrick McGoohan died yesterday in Los Angeles after a short illness.

McGoohan, who was born in New York but raised in England and Ireland, came to screen prominence in ITV's early 1960s drama series Danger Man, in which he played a secret agent.

He was also considered for the lead role in the first James Bond movie, Dr No, before Sean Connery was cast.

We here at Crossed Combs will of course always remember him for Prisoner. If there ever was a cult tv series, Prisoner sure is one. We suggest you watch some episodes, book a trip to Portmeirion and above all, never forget that you're not a number - you are a free man.

Rest in peace Patrick McGoohan. Be seeing you.

Captain Kirk's Guide to Women

There are some weird books out there....

When it comes to legendary men of romance, Casanova, Don Juan or James Bond might spring to mind. But there is only one who can honestly boast that his powers of seduction have taken him where no man has gone before — Captain James T. Kirk. Captain Kirk's status as an Interstellar Stud is proven by his ability to seduce any woman, any situation, in any part of the galaxy.

Find out more at Amazon

Robert Gordon news

On January 2, Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding will play Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
On February 19, they will embark on a major European tour, their first in almost two years. The tour itinerary is as follows: Feb.19 – The Musician, Leicester (UK); Feb.20 - C.C.Club, London (UK); Feb.22 - The Cluny, Newcastle (UK); Feb.23 - The Legendary TJ's, Newport (UK); Feb 26 – The Roxy, Prague (Czech Republic); Feb.28 - Droskan, Umea (SE); Feb.29 - Katalin, Uppsala (SE) and the Mejeriet in Lund (SE) on March 1st. They will also perform a special one-off concert in Spain on May 24th, at the “Murcia Hot Rally” in Lo Pagan / San Pedro Del Pinatar, as well as at the Americana Festival in Newark (U.K.) on July 13th.

More info at robertgordon.dk

Elvis the mini-series out on DVD

16 August marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, and loads of products appear on the market to commemorate or perhaps cash in (you choose). Yesterday, the 14th, saw the DVD release of Elvis: The Mini-Series in USA.

Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis, Randy Quaid as Colonel Tom Parker and Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret, this mini-series was first shown on television in 2005.

I'm not going to mention Kurt Russell.

The Complete Space: 1999 Mega Set 30th Anniversary Edition

In 1999, Moonbase Alpha, nestled in the Lunar crater Plato, is a scientific research colony and watchdog over silos of atomic waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side. On September 13, 1999, magnetic energy builds to cause an explosive chain-reaction of the waste, blasting the Moon out of Earth orbit and off the plane of the ecliptic, out of the Solar System. The inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha are unable to return to Earth and must survive on their wandering Moon as it is displaced further into unknown space by freak space warps.

Space:1999 was one of my fave tv shows as a kid and this 17 disc box set is like early xmas. 17 discs, that's a total of 2496 minutes!

Here's what you get: all 48 episodes on 17 discs in Thinpaks, Original promotional spots, Photo galleries of production stills, Season 1 trailer gallery, Original Year 2 behind-the-scenes featurette, Gallery of original pre-production artwork, BBC "behind the scenes" segment, Original theatrical trailers, Special effects featurette with Brian Johnson, Rare "Blackpool Exhibit Film", Rare vintage interviews with cast and crew, Vintage interview with Year 2 set designer Keith Wilson, Three complete remastered episodes featuring in-depth behind-the-scenes running audio commentary, Fan-produced series ending "Message from Moonbase Alpha", Alternate sequences from key episodes.

Holy lip sync Batman!

The Barracudas doing 'Summer Fun' on Top of the Pops. Does it get any better than this? It probably does, but perhaps not as fun.